Forgery

Bulgaria is grappling with a sharp increase in counterfeit currency, with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) reporting a concerning surge in fake banknotes, particularly those of 100 BGN denominations.

A total of 22 people have been detained for issuing counterfeit reports after the investigation launched by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against some employees of Istanbul's Büyükçekmece Municipality for taking bribes.

Greek police arrested four people believed to be members of a criminal gang selling forged artworks, Byzantine images and small antiquities to buyers in the wider region of Attica and Europe. 

Police was notified by a person who fell victim to the fraud, having bought a fake painting for 50,000 euros.

Feti Şahin, who graduated from Istanbul Technical University's (İTÜ) Physics Engineering Department, has been running a photocopy center at the same university for the last 37 years, choosing a different path to make a living.

The specialized prosecutor's office has indicted four persons  for participating in an organized criminal group for making and distributing counterfeit dollars and euros and Bulgarian ID documents. The accused have been previously detained during a police operation in January 2020.

Officers with the Hellenic Police's (ELAS) electronic crimes division have arrested one suspect and are seeking another four in connection with an alleged forgery scam worth thousands of euros.

Greece may not really be a production country for counterfeit cosmetics, but it is a transit hub through which they travel to other countries. The cost to local cosmetics companies is by no means negligible, as the estimated loss of revenues to the counterfeiters comes to 234 million euros per year, or about 20 percent of the market's sales.

A Turkish court handed down jail terms to 131 members of the FETÖ following their trial, a judicial source said on Jan. 22.

A court in the capital Ankara sentenced former police intelligence chief Ramazan Akyürek to 45 years in prison, while his ex-deputy Gürsel Aktepe received 27 years.

The CEC began exporting the first data from the processing of election protocols. Here's what the data shows at 11:20.

In Sofia - with 44.49% of protocols counted - Yordanka Fandakova has 36.57% ahead of Maya Manolova, which has 27.30%. There will be a runoff in Sofia next week.

Three people were convicted during the submission of election papers at the Arena Armeec hall in Sofia. A man and a woman were taken to St. Anna Hospital for high blood pressure. The the third victim, who is a police officer, refused to be hospitalized.